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SFA School of Music announces scholarship recipients

Robbie Goodrich, director of arts information
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April 29, 2020

NACOGDOCHES, Texas – The School of Music at Stephen F. Austin State University has announced the newest list of recipients of the many scholarships that are awarded annually to SFA music students.

“At the end of every academic year, the SFA School of Music is fortunate to be able to present dozens of students with the many endowed scholarships that so many magnanimous donors have given over the years,” said Dr. Gary Wurtz, director of the School of Music. “This is typically done at our annual Extravaganza student celebration event. With this being an intensely abnormal year, due to the COVID-19 quarantine situation, we were unable to have that event, so we are pleased to instead use this statement to announce the following awardees.”

Scholarships from the winds, brass and percussion area

  • The recipient of the Kelly W. Lancaster Memorial Music Scholarship is Kurt Swisher, a percussion student of Brad Meyer and music education major from Tyler. Swisher is also the recipient of the J.T. Cox Band Scholarship.
  • The recipient of the Bobby D. Goff Memorial Band Scholarship is Jared Cornett, a transfer student from Kilgore College, entering SFA in the fall of 2020.
  • The recipient of the Charles Lee Hill Band Scholarship is McKenzie Campo, a clarinet student of Chris Ayer and music education major from Nacogdoches.
  • The recipient of the Dirk Wheeler Memorial Music Education Scholarship is Levi Grant, a trombone student of Deb Scott and music education major from Longview.
  • The recipient of the Hubert A. “Butch” Almany Band Scholarship is Hannah Terral, a clarinet student of Chris Ayer and music education major from Clifton.
  • The recipient of the Mary Osborne Ray Memorial Drum Major Scholarship is Eamonn Donnelly, a euphonium student of Danny Chapa and music education major from Nashville, Tennessee.
  • The recipient of the Mel Montgomery Band Scholarship is Braydon Sowell, a saxophone student of Nathan Nabb and music education major from Carthage.
  • The recipient of the Paul Stroud Memorial Band Scholarship is Kristen Mercer, a trombone student of Deb Scott and music education major from Kingwood.
  • The recipient of the Waymon Bullock Music Education Scholarship is Elizabeth Esquivel Mondragon, a flute student of Christina Guenther and music education major from Tyler.
  • The recipient of the Jackie and Neil Grant Music Education Scholarship is Jasmin Limqueco, a flute student of Christina Guenther and music education major from Plano.
  • The recipient of the John D. Dickson Music Scholarship is Spencer Alfredson of Tomball, a horn performance student of Charles Gavin.

Scholarships from the voice area

  • The recipient of the Ida Pritchett Memorial Music Scholarship is Maiya Williams, a voice student of Scott LaGraff and music education major from Hutto.
  • Two students were awarded the David W. Jones Voice Scholarship: Megan Stone, a voice student of Nita Hudson and music education major from Spring; and Grace Palmore, voice student of Debbie Berry and music education major from Royse City.
  • The recipient of the Doris H. and James A. Jones Music Scholarship is Hunter Dickens, a voice student of Scott LaGraff and music education major from Bullard.
  • The recipient of the James A. and Doris H. Jones Music Scholarship is Hannah Hays, a voice student of Scott LaGraff and music education major from Lubbock.
  • Three voice students were named as recipients of the O. Elbridge and Katherine Gammill Voice Scholarship: Sara Rosado of Katy, a music education student of Debbie Berry; Anthony Perez of Houston, a music education student of Nita Hudson; and Jay Teamer of Lake Dallas, a music education student of Debbie Dalton.
  • Three voice students have the honor of holding the Ron Anderson Voice Scholarship: Jason Padron of Houston, a music education student of Nita Hudson; Grace Palmore of Royse City, a music education student of Debbie Berry; and Matthew Mitchell of Huffman, a music education student of Debbie Berry.
  • The Nacogdoches Symphony Club’s annual Baumgartner Award will be split between two voice students: Taryn Surrat of Houston, a voice performance student of Nita Hudson; and Megan Bucher of Katy, a voice performance student of Debbie Berry.
  • The recipient of the Cum Concilio Club’s Peggy Wedgeworth Wright Award in the voice area is Kayla Luptak, a voice student of Debbie Berry and music education major from Bullard.

Scholarships from the strings area

  • The recipient of the Isidor Saslav Strings Scholarship is Alina Nebzhidovskaia from St. Petersburg, Russia, a violin student of Jennifer Dalmas.
  • String students who are receiving the Paul Francis Buskirk Strings Scholarship include Caroline Pagano of Kingwood; Emily Duin of Kingwood; Nicole Beltran of Irving; Ernesto Mendoza of Abilene; Veronica Guerra of Harlingen; John Velez of Freeport; and Haley Dunn of Houston.
  • The recipient of the Barbara Brown Schoenewolf Art and Music Scholarship is Isabella Gaertner of Mount Pleasant, a cello performance student of Evgeni Raychev.
  • The recipient of the Cum Concilio Club’s Peggy Wedgeworth Wright Award in the string area is Nicole Beltran, a violin student of Jen Dalmas and music education major from Irving.

Scholarships from the piano area

  • The recipient of the Jack and Cheryl Nelson Music Scholarship is Davidson Reyes from the Dominican Republic, a piano student of Andrew Parr. Reyes is also the recipient of the Rowena Hinson Music Scholarship.
  • The recipient of the Mamie Middlebrook Music Scholarship is Kaden Harman of Cushing, a piano student of Ping-Ting Lan. Harman is also the recipient of the Shirley R. Watterston Accompanying Scholarship.

Scholarships from the jazz area

  • The recipient of the Gary Wurtz Jazz Scholarship is Felipe Hernandez of Lufkin, a graduate saxophone student of Nathan Nabb. Hernandez was also named as the Darrell Holt Outstanding member of the Swingin’ Axes for the year.
  • The recipient of the Kermit and Margaret Wilson Agee Music Scholarship is Sterling Davis, a trombone student of Deb Scott and music education major from Cambridge, Ohio.
  • The recipient of the Perry and Martha Brittain Scholarship is Levi Grant, a trombone student of Deb Scott and music education major from Longview.
  • The recipient of the Zack Brittain Scholarship is Sterling Davis, a trombone student of Deb Scott and music education major from Cambridge, Ohio.

Scholarships from the composition and music theory area

  • The recipient of the G. Darrell Holt Music Scholarship is Scott Hansen from Haines, Alaska, a graduate composition student of Stephen Lias. Hansen is also the recipient of the Dan Beaty Memorial Music Scholarship.
  • The recipient of the Don McManus Music Scholarship is Jasmin Limqueco, a flute student of Christina Guenther and music education major from Plano.

General music scholarships

  • The recipient of the Aaron and Barbara Smith Music Scholarship is Julia Walden, a flute student of Christina Guenther and music education major from Malakoff.
  • The recipient of the Colvert Family Music Scholarship is Sterling Davis, a trombone student of Deb Scott and music education major from Cambridge, Ohio.
  • The recipient of the H.H. “Hoot” and Bertha Gibson Scholarship is Fernando Martinez, a clarinet student of Chris Ayer and music education major from Brownsville.
  • The recipient of the Jack R. and Claudine W. McKinney Memorial Music Scholarship is Hannah Terral, a clarinet student of Chris Ayer and music education major from Clifton.
  • The recipient of the Virdian Watkins Vaughn Scholarship is Anthony Perez, a voice student of Nita Hudson and music education major from Houston.
  • The Pi Kappa Lambda Award for the sophomore with the highest GPA goes to Joshua (Reed) Sellers, a voice student of Ric Berry and music education major from Cypress.

The James I. Perkins family has underwritten the Dr. Peggy W. Wright Music Scholarship to memorialize the devoted School of Music supporter, according to Wurtz. The two deserving recipients are Hannah Terral, a clarinet student of Chris Ayer and music education major from Clifton; and Maiya Williams, a voice student of Scott LaGraff and music education major from Hutto.

Each fall, a new student is selected as the recipient of the Ed and Gwen Cole Music Scholarship, and they receive that award for four years. The current four Cole Scholars are Taryn Surrat of Houston, a voice performance student of Nita Hudson; Sara Rosado, a voice student of Debbie Berry and music education major from Katy; Anthony Perez, a voice student of Nita Hudson and music education major from Houston; and Aaron Milam, a percussion student of Brad Meyer and music education major from Longview.

Each spring, the prestigious Presser Scholarship, endowed by the Presser Foundation of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is awarded to a student who is entering their senior year. That person is known as the Presser Scholar. The 2020 Presser Scholar is Dalia Lee, a clarinet student of Chris Ayer and music education major from Frisco.